E.L. Doctorow's Civil War: 'The March'

Fresh Air | By Maureen Corrigan

Published September 27, 2005 at 11:00 PM CDT

E.L. Doctorow's novel follows Sherman, misfit soldiers, a freed slave and many other characters.

In The March, novelist E.L. Doctorow applies his distinctive approach to historical fiction to events of the Civil War -- especially Gen. William T. Sherman's decisive, destructive assault on Georgia. Sherman is a key character. Others include a freed slave girl named Pearl, two rank-and-file soldiers and a Union surgeon.

Maureen Corrigan

Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, is The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University. She is an associate editor of and contributor to Mystery and Suspense Writers (Scribner) and the winner of the 1999 Edgar Award for Criticism, presented by the Mystery Writers of America. In 2019, Corrigan was awarded the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing by the National Book Critics Circle.

See stories by Maureen Corrigan